Anna af Sand

Stock Press Photo | Anna af Sand

The sloop Anna af Sand is one of Europe’s oldest ships and a unique representative of Norwegian coastal culture. She is typical for the many freight vessels sailing the fjords and along the coast from the 18th century and into the last century.
She was launched in Hardanger in 1848 and was given the name Haabet (Hope). Ten years later she came to Ryfylke. It was exactly this type of vessel that was used for transport of goods up and down the fjords and coastline at that time. The sloop was also used for transport and lodgings during the herring fishing period. Many of the sloops sailed the Baltic Sea carrying salted herring.
Since then she has represented the museum, the city and the country in both near and distant waters. The voluntary crew has sailed her safely to harbor in more than 13 European countries. There are especially two foreign trips that have made Anna known beyond the boundaries of Norway. During the summer of 1990, she sailed a symbolic cargo of salted herring to Poland, the Baltic States and St. Petersburg, copying the voyage of ships 150 years earlier. In several of the places Anna visited, she was the first ship from the west to enter the harbor for 50 years. During the summer of 1995 she sailed to Northern Spain carrying clipfish to commemorate the old trade contracts that meant so much to our country. In San Sebastian she was loaded with salt and wine as her return cargo.
Technical information:
Length: 15.8 meters, Width: 5.5 meters, Depth: 2.2 meters, Auxiliary motor: 72 hp Perkins Diesel, Mast: 19 meters, Mainsail: 82.2 square meters, Topsail: 16 square meters, Foresail: 20 square meters, Jib: 22.8 square meters, Flying jib: 21.2 square meters

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